Back Off
by AdieraFire
Summary: AU When Hiyori doesn't return when she's supposed to, Shinji leaves the warehouse to search her out and finds her just in time. Shinji X Hiyori, Don't like it, don't read. Rated for Safety.


Hello everyone! Adierafire here!  
This is not necessarily my _first _Bleach fanfic, but it _is_ the first one I've put up here. It's AU and I'm still not entirely sure what I think of it. Anyway, lemme know what you think! Seriously. Review's make my day so much better!

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Shinji was one of several unique humanoid hybrids; a set of 'experiments' of Kisuke's. The DNA running through his veins was that of a wolf, rather than that of any domesticated canine. Although he displayed traits similar to a regular domesticated hybrid-the desire to be part of a pack and the undeniable need to protect those of his 'pack'- the majority of his personality was made up of purely wolfish traits.

Currently he was lying on his side on the only couch the warehouse had to offer, eyes regarding his mismatched pack, bushy tail occasionally rising to fall to the couch with a soft, almost inaudible thump. A few feet away Kensei sat, lounging gracefully against a wall, snarling at Lisa, the only other lion hybrid in the group. Slightly further Foff Mashiro prattled on, her fox tail swiping patterns in the dirt as Hachi listened intently. Shinji was unusually grateful for the bear. He helped to keep the pack together. Love rested lazily against a piece of rubble, the striped tiger tail swaying absently back and forth as he chuckled into the pages of Rose's manga.

The only two who were currently away were Rose and Hiyori. He knew that it had been necessary to go and check in with Kisuke, but the knowledge did not calm him in the slightest. His thoughts briefly strayed to the information he knew about the 'experiment'. Kisuke had developed them as the only hybrids in the world with wild, rather than domesticated, animal DNA. He had made two breeding pairs, and was curious as to what life was like for them.

The door to the warehouse rattled open and Rose entered, shaking the light drops of water from his ears and hair. Shinji growled lowly, waiting a moment, expecting to see Hiyori shove her way into the warehouse. When it became apparent that she wasn't with Rose, Shinji rose to his feet, ears pinned to his skull as he made his way to Rose, a low growl reverberating through the now quiet warehouse. Elongated canines exposed, muscles tense, he stopped in front of Rose. The male, recognizing Shinji as the dominant male of the pack, tilted so that his neck was shown in submission.

"Where is she Rose?" Shinji asked, voice low and dangerous.

"She was walking only a street behind me. I didn't argue with her when she insisted, knowing that I could hear her footsteps behind me and if it came down to it I could always scent her out. We were halfway here when it started to rain. When I turned around she wasn't there and even with her scent lingering I couldn't find her." Rose answered. Without waiting for Rose to continue Shinji was out in the rain, taking off. If she wanted to be alone that was fine, Shinji could give her space. What he couldn't handle was the fact that she was wandering the streets alone in the middle of the night while it was raining.

Kensei shook his head a moment after their 'alpha' had left. "She's gonna be in some serious shit." He murmured. Lisa and the others nodded their agreement.

~*~*~*~*~

Hiyori knew she wasn't supposed to be out alone-not that she had ever been one to follow rules- but she'd met an interesting mutt earlier in the day and the chance to talk with him further was too much for her to give up. She had ditched Rose as soon as it had begun to rain, knowing that neither he nor anyone but Shinji would be able to track her with the rain washing away her scent and the sound of her movements.

Her eyes made a quick sweep of the area, and she mentally mapped out the direction she would need to go before turning down a catwalk into a back lane. Only a little bit further and she'd be there. She could see the chain-link fence that kept the domesticated hybrid from straying away, though from the build of the canine hybrid she figured that he could have easily jumped the fence if he wanted to.

She reached the fence and as she had predicted, the red-headed mutt was waiting out for her, hood pulled up over his ears. 'Pampered house pet,' she thought as he drew closer to the back of the fence where she stood. Within a few feet of him now, she realized that although _he_ was the domesticated one, if she got on his nerves he could easily tear her to shreds.

"What's your name?" The male asked, voice rough but curiously calm. Hiyori blinked. For a dog he certainly was strange. Here she was, standing at the very edge of 'his' territory, soaked and hostile looking and the only question he thought to ask was what her name was? But then again, he _was _a mutt, and she couldn't expect the same reactions out of him that a wolf would have.

When she didn't answer the redhead cocked his head to the side and regarded her curiously, dark eyes searching her face for some sort of answer. After a moment he gave up and opened his mouth to ask her another question, ignoring the way her eyes traced his tattoos.

"Are you a stray?" He wondered and Hiyori snorted. Typical of a house-pet to categorize the unknown into belongs to human or doesn't.

"No, not a stray, or a common house-pet like you either," she continued on before the male could continue, "Tell me mutt, do you like the people you are living with now?" The hybrid narrowed his eyes at her and for a moment Hiyori wondered if she had perhaps gone too far. However the domesticated canine shrugged.

"My name's Renji, not mutt," He started. "And yes, I like it. The Kuchiki's adopted me when I was still young and I've grown up as part of the family." He replied. "You still haven't told me your name."

"My name is Hiyori." She replied, glancing behind her. She was sure Shinji would be looking for her soon and when he did happen to find her he wasn't going to be pleased.

"Where'd you get those tattoos?" Hiyori wondered, indicating the black markings that trailed up into his red hair and were visible still along his shoulders. The mutt shrugged.

"I've had 'em since I was really little. I really don't know where I got them or why I have them but they're useful to identify me in case I ever get lost." Hiyori snorted, ears cocked forward in amusement.

"You can't seriously get _lost_ can you?" She demanded, intrigued. Regardless of how far she was from the warehouse, she would inevitably be able to make her way back home in the shortest possible time.

"I _can_ actually. The last time it happened I was still young. I had gotten a cold so I couldn't scent my owners out and I was too small to be able to see over the heads of everyone in the marketplace." He explained, wondering why he felt the need to explain things to this wild hybrid.

"_Shit_" Hiyori growled suddenly, ears perked, muscles tensing, tail suddenly still. She glanced back at Renji.

"Gotta go Renji. No clue if I'll see you again but keep an eye out anyway!" And with that Hiyori was off, racing away from the faint sound of Shinji's footsteps behind her. She was going to head back towards the warehouse and hope that Shinji calmed down slightly by the time she got back.

Unfortunately she didn't get that far. Instead she ran head-first into something warm and hard. Glancing up in sudden terror, expecting to find Shinji staring back in annoyance at her, she found instead a set of teal eyes and a grin that sent shivers up her spine.

"Well well well. Aren't you _special_." The man mused as Hiyori scrambled back, fear setting her on edge. She wasn't sure exactly who this guy was, but she couldn't recognize him as any type of hybrid, despite the teal ears and twitching tail.

"Who the hell are you?" She snarled, tense, quivering, eyes darting to potential escape routes.

The man chuckled, a sort of laugh that said he enjoyed watching her fear. "Grimmjow. And you?" Hiyori growled. She didn't _want_ to talk with this guy. She didn't want to be around him any longer than she had to and yet he was blocking the only possible escape route, cornering her as he paced before her. As he neared, a sadistic glint in his eye, Hiyori let out the slightest whimper. How was she to fight Grimmjow? He was all muscle as far as she could tell, at least twice her size and looked as though he had far more battle experience than she had. Her eyes pressed closed, expecting Grimmjow to do _something_.

Then she heard the distinct sound of Shinji's annoyed growl only moments before he had roughly shoved Grimmjow away from Hiyori, instinctively placing himself in front of her. The smaller blond relaxed minutely, her relief at Shinji's arrival palpable.

"The hell was that for you asshole?!" Grimmjow snarled, tail whipping irritably behind him, pointed canines bared. Shinji glared back at the teal-haired hybrid and Hiyori, who had been about to talk fell silent.

"You're seriously asking that?" Shinji demanded, "I always knew being a stray was a hard life, but I didn't think that's the cause of your obvious stupidity." He ignored the shock Grimmjow showed at being insulted by someone who looked as though he would be easy to snap in half and waited for Grimmjow to respond. After a few minutes, when in became clear he wasn't planning on responding Shinji turned to Hiyori.

"Let's go. I want to have a word with you when we get home." Hiyori nodded, knowing that he wouldn't tolerate her talking back and would forcibly take her back if he had to. As the little wolf made to step around Grimmjow, his hand shot out to catch her wrist and a half second later Shinji was snarling, claws he normally trimmed digging into Grimmjow's arm, his free hand twisted in a painfully awkward angle.

"You really are excruciatingly slow," Shinji growled, disgust and fury evident in every syllable, "So I'm going to make this as painstakingly clear as it can get," He paused and Grimmjow released Hiyori, though Shinji still twisted.

"She. Is. _Mated._ Claimed. Off limits. Surely even an inbred street cat can understand that." Grimmjow glared at the wolf before nodding, showing he understood. Shinji ignored the clear hatred burning in the other man's eyes and released him, knowing the alley cat wouldn't dare try to attack him tonight.

"Home Hiyori." Shinji ordered, tone promising a lecture at the very least. The smaller wolf nodded and together with her mate she began the trek back home and suddenly became aware of the rain again. A cautious glance at Shinji showed that he was cooling off.

"What is it Hiyori?" He asked, having caught her glance.

She hesitated for a moment then: "I know I'm in a shitload of trouble, but do you think you could wait until _after_ we've showered and warmed up to lecture me?"

Shinji smirked and shook his head in amusement. Questions like that were why he could never stay mad at her for too long.

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Well, there you go. Again, not entirely sure what I think of it yet, but I hope you guys liked it!  Please leave me a comment, even just a couple words. Constructive criticism is welcome but please no flames.


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